Digital Economy Bill - campaigns & Updates

The official explanatory notes for the Bill are [link=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldbills/001/en/2010001en.pdf]here[/link].
But there is more user-friendly stuff [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Economy_Bill]here[/link] and [link=http://www.stop43.org.uk/]here[/link].

[quote]The UK Government wants to introduce a law to allow anyone to use your photographs commercially, or in ways you might not like, without asking you first.[/quote]And cut off your broadband connection for doing anything in future which they might in future decide you shouldn't be doing. Or which somebody else may have been doing on your IP address that you don't know about.
There is much more too it, those are more like the red top headline shock horror versions, and some new legislation is badly needed, but the way Mandelson is having it shoved through without proper debate, and he seems to be very cosy with some media industry old guard bosses, he is really trying to give himself and chums the power to make up new copyright and internet rules in future, without parliamentary debate.
All on the grounds that we can trust them. We probably can trust them - to operate in[i] their[/i] best interests.

Quote:The UK Government wants to introduce a law to allow anyone to use your photographs commercially, or in ways you might not like, without asking you first.And cut off your broadband connection for doing anything in future which they might in future decide you shouldn't be doing. Or which somebody else may have been doing on your IP address that you don't know about.

There is much more too it, those are more like the red top headline shock horror versions, and some new legislation is badly needed, but the way Mandelson is having it shoved through without proper debate, and he seems to be very cosy with some media industry old guard bosses, he is really trying to give himself and chums the power to make up new copyright and internet rules in future, without parliamentary debate.
All on the grounds that we can trust them. We probably can trust them - to operate in their best interests.

Somehow I think we might actually get more luck pushing through the EU to block this than trying to go through our own government pathways. It seems that our government is paying less and less attention to us and not even trying to cover up the fact.

Somehow I think we might actually get more luck pushing through the EU to block this than trying to go through our own government pathways. It seems that our government is paying less and less attention to us and not even trying to cover up the fact.

[quote]The Bill has been the subject of widespread protest online, with over 20,000 people having emailed their MPs in protest through the 38degrees website, and over 35,000 signing a petition against the plans to disconnect accused file-sharers.[/quote]
Looks like it fell on deaf ears.

Quote:The Bill has been the subject of widespread protest online, with over 20,000 people having emailed their MPs in protest through the 38degrees website, and over 35,000 signing a petition against the plans to disconnect accused file-sharers.

Have you seen our recent news story that they're planning on putting clause 43 back in if they get in power again?
[link=http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Commercial-orphan-works-exploitation-could-still-happen-13497] Clause 43 gone, but not forgotten[/link]